Ghostly Magick
by xx.butterflaii
Summary: [ A Mediator x Harry Potter crossover. ] [ postOotP ] When something happens to our favourite heroine, she is shipped off to London for safekeeping. Little does Suze know that 'safe' is far from what she will be...
1. Prologue

**The Mediator : Harry Potter**

**Ghostly Magick**

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_Prologue_

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_Susannah Simon laughed as she and her friends Cee Cee and Adam sat on the beach, watching the sunset. They had just met up for their weekly visit to the Coffee Clutch and today they decided to watch the sunset together._

_Sharing jokes and complaining about homework, they had fun until Suze checked her watch. Exclaiming in panic, they all hurried back into Adam's red VW bug and drove off. When they pulled up into her driveway, she sighed in relief – she wouldn't be late for dinner._

_Waving to her friends, she walked up the porch steps. For some reason, she thought of Paul Slater. He had gone to Britain for a summer trip and should have come back a week ago. It was mysterious that he had never come back. People were now thinking that he had gone missing._

_Shaking her head, she approached the door. Surprisingly, it was ajar._

_Frowning, she pushed open the door and walked into the house. Everything was dark and she could barely see in front of her._

_She thought she heard a rustle in the kitchen and she grabbed one of her stepbrothers' surfboards and approached through the door._

_BANG._

_She jumped and snapped her head around to look at the back door. It had just opened and slammed of its own accord._

_Scared now, she whirled around and rushed into the living room. She tripped over something soft._

_Getting up, she groped along the wall for a light switch. When she found it, she flipped it on._

_And stood, frozen._

_Her mother's eyes stared up at her unblinkingly._

No……

_Backing away into the kitchen, she whirled around, not wanting to see her mother like that. And instead, she was greeted with her stepfather's unmoving gaze, one hand holding a spatula. _

_Running back into the den, she noticed Brad lying face down in front of the TV, a game controller held loosely in his hands. The screen flashed 'GAME OVER' – again and again, relentlessly._

_Hand clapping over her mouth, she ran upstairs, only to trip again over the body of Jake. Running blindly, she finally got to the room of her youngest stepbrother._

_She opened the door, hoping to find David hiding under the bed, shaken but safe. Instead, she saw the redhead lying on his bed, curled up in a ball, face contorted into one of pain._

_His glasses lay broken on the floor._

_She ran over to him, shaking him roughly by the shoulders, trembling._

"_David? David! This isn't funny! Come on… stop it! STOP IT!"_

_When her stepbrother still laid there, body limp as a rag doll and glassy, unseeing eyes staring at her, she knew somewhere in her mind it wasn't a joke._

_Unbelieving, stifling a scream, she ran outside just in time to hear, "MORSMORDRE!"_

_Something vast, green, and glittering shot out from behind the house and into the air above it. Suze's face was bathed in green light as she stared in horror at the large shimmering skull in the air. A snake was protruding out of its gaping mouth._

_She had nowhere left to go. She did not know if the people who killed her family would be after her next. She searched her mind for the nearest safe place she could think of._

_The Mission._

_Afraid, she ran down the hill, ears open to listen for the sounds of pursuit. When none came floating to her ears, her face fell into one of relief._

_That is, until she heard the heavy footfalls of someone running behind her._

_She sped up, her thoughts firmly focused on getting to the Mission, to Father Dominic._

_Father Dominic would know what to do._

_She thought the footsteps fell closer, more heavily. She sped up, heart racing, almost ready to burst. Finally, she saw the Mission's entrance coming up. Without stopping to look back, she ran around it to the back. She hurriedly hid in some bushes and took deep breaths, looking out to see her followers._

_Instead, she saw a runner from her neighborhood peer curiously behind the Mission where she was hidden. Eyes wide, she watched as he jogged away._

_With a last burst of speed, she hurled herself through the entrance and ran for the direction of the rectory._

_She knocked frantically at the door of the rectory, crying, "Father Dominic! Father Dom!"_

_As her fear blinded her, when a nun opened the door Suze pushed past her. She looked around frantically and finally seeing the concerned face of Father Dominic, she rushed to him, grabbing his robes and hanging on tight._

"_Father D… Father Dom…" she gasped, shaking._

_And as the sun set beyond the horizon, the last thing she saw was Father Dominic's alarmed face and a shimmer of blue light out of the corner of her eye before darkness claimed her._

"_Susannah!"

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_

**(A/N: review, perhaps?)**


	2. Flight

**The Mediator : Harry Potter  
Ghostly Magick**

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**(A/N: hey all. sorry for the really long delay. i had the worst case of writer's block for my mediator fanfictions.**

**actually, no, not really. it's just that i've kind of given up on writing mediator fanfictions. i'll keep this one going because it's a crossover of the one thing i'm actually interested in writing in, now - harry potter.**

**NOTE: If any of you are interested in reading Harry Potter fanfiction, take a look at my fanfic called "Of Mudbloods and Sex." Rated M for later sexual chapters, as apparent in the title. This is in the MWPP era, and focused mostly on James/Lily. Not bad for my first Harry Potter fanfiction, if I do say so myself. )**

_

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Chapter One. _

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_Suze's POV _

**I opened my eyes and found myself in the same place I was transported to every time I closed my eyes. **

"No… no…" I clapped my hand to my mouth, backing away from the house – away from the sight that will meet my eyes when I stepped inside.

"No!" I shrieked, turning away, running.

And then I was transported into another place – gravestones scattered everywhere.

I backed up, horrified, until I tripped and fell over something.

"Aaah!" I screamed as I struggled to regain my balance. I breathed hard, looking at what I had tripped over.

Five gravestones spread out in front of me.

**Andy Ackerman… Helen Ackerman… Jake Ackerman… Brad Ackerman… David Ackerman… **

No…_ The graves weren't filled, and the dead bodies of my family stared up at the sky – unmoving, frozen, glassy, _dead_. _

Then, slowly, they all turned to look at me. "You…" they mouthed. "You did this…"

"After all I've done, this is what you do?" Andy accused. "I made your mom happy… why did you do this…"

"No, no, I didn't do it!" I cried, tears running down my cheeks.

"Suzie… little Suzie… you killed me… you killed your dad…"

"No, mom, no!"

"Suze… Suze… This is how you reward a protective brother… I was only trying to protect you…"

"Jake, no, please, no – I know, I understand!"

"Suze…I know about Jesse… I've always known… is it because you didn't want mom and dad to know? Is that why you had to kill me…"

"Brad!" she cried, sobbing. "You idiot! No, Jesse's a ghost, he's… he's…"

"Suze…" David looked up at me piteously. "Suze… I helped you so much on your homework… I knew about Jesse… You told me about my mom… I thought you loved me…"

"Dave! No, Dave, I do love you, I'm sorry I never told you, please don't blame me!"

"You never loved us…" They all mouthed, their eyes digging into my soul. "You never loved us… you never did…"

"No, no! I loved you, I still_ love you! No, please, no, no, NO!" _

I collapsed on the ground before a group of dark, hooded, cloaked people appeared, surrounding me. I blinked in fear, looking around for somewhere to escape.

And then the voice. It always came, I always heard it – it haunted me, it will never go away…

"_**Get her."**_

**_My heart raced in my chest as I turned and ran – ran from the horrifying voice, the hooded figures, the red sky – from the sick green skull whose eyes bore into mine and burnt them, the snake that protruded from its mouth slithering down to engulf me – my mother's eyes, blank and dead, staring at me, accusing me, torturing me –_**

"_Ladies and gentlemen, we are now approaching London. We will be starting our descent shortly. On behalf of the cabin crew, we hope you enjoyed the flight. We wish you a nice stay in London."_

The PA clicked off and I breathed hard in my seat, trying to calm my breath.

_It's a nightmare. It was just a nightmare._ But I knew that was a lie.

I was finally here in London. I could not believe the things that had happened in the last month. I had only been California for five months, and now I had to move again – this time to a new country. I had lost another home, and I had lost –

_No_. _Stop thinking about it._

I refused to linger on the dead eyes that stared at me in the dark. Even now no one knew what had happened – they did an autopsy, and there was nothing wrong with them – they were all healthy, and suffered no bruises, there were no foreign substances in their body. It was as if they just _dropped dead_.

But I knew they didn't.

I shook my head. I should not think about them – not now.

_But why?_ whispered voice in my ear. _Why did it matter anymore?_

Why _did_ it matter anymore? My family was gone. Jake, the older brother who I had just started to warm up to; Brad, who I've always been mean to, and how I regret ever treating him that way; little Doc, little Dave, who was only twelve, his life taken away from him. Andy, too – he had always been there, whether or not I wanted him to be, or wanted to believe he was. And my mom… my last connection to my father…

Tears welled in my eyes. If I had known that it would have happened – I would have thanked Andy properly for the tuna sandwich he made today, I would have hugged my mom that morning before going to school. I would have waved at Jake as he went to university, I would have smiled at Brad. And I would have said hi to David when I saw him walking around school.

I had no idea that when I came back from the Coffee Clutch with CeeCee and Adam that any of this would happen. I had no idea that any of this would happen at all.

Now I couldn't control the tears that fell. As the plane touched down, I tried to make myself as presentable as possible and got off to get my bags. I looked down at the floor, my lank hair covering the face, as I picked up my bags and headed to the Arrivals area.

I found a taxi stand and got into a taxi, handing him a slip of paper without saying anything. He took it, glanced at it, and drove off while I sat there, too tired to move.

I had never looked at the slip of paper. When Father Dom gave it to me, I just stuck it in my pocket. I almost forgot I had it until the last moment when I got to the airport in California.

* * *

**_… "Susannah." _**

I sat there, looking at the ground, as I had been doing the last couple of hours. The last couple of days, even.

"Susannah. There's something I need you to know."

I looked up into the sad blue eyes of Father D.

"Susannah, I've found out that, since you are only seventeen years of age, you have to go live with your closest relative."

At this, my eyes widened, but I gave no other sign I heard.

"**_It turns out that your closest relative is an aunt you have never known. She lives in London, England, and you are going to have to live there." _**

He leaned forward to look into my eyes. "You can't live here, Susannah," he said gently. "You won't be attending this school anymore. You're going to London."

For the first time in days, I responded. I blinked.

"Padre_?" a soft voice asked. "Should she not stay longer? Look at her – she is still not well." The voice echoed of pain, of sadness, of concern and anxiety. _

Jesse.

A sigh. "I know you still want her by your side, Jesse. But you have got to let go. And we have done all that we can. She has to heal the rest – by herself."

Padre

"**_Yes, but, Padre – " _**

"Jesse?" I croaked, voice so quiet I could not believe they heard me at all.

"Yes, querida_?" Jesse bent down quickly and looked into my eyes, worry evident. _

"I… I'm going to have to go to London. I think I need to be alone for awhile. I'll call you when I need you, alright?"

Jesse's eyes filled with relief that I was talking again, but he looked sad to see me go.

"You… you will remember?" he asked.

"Yes, Jesse. I promise it."

* * *

querida

I leaned back into the seat of the car, ignoring the screams of my hair telling me that I was going to need to wash it after this. I closed my eyes and thought of how much I missed them.

All of them.

CeeCee and Adam, Father Dom, Paul – yes, Paul, stupid prick, Jake, Brad, David, Andy, mom… Jesse.

I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, we had pulled up and the cab driver was telling me to get off.

I muttered an apology, and he drove off, leaving my standing there with my suitcases. I looked up at the immaculate lawn and driveway of the house that I had been dropped in front of.

The house was actually quite nice, though all the curtains were closed, as if the people inhabiting it were afraid of spies. I saw movement behind one of the curtains – but when I squinted to take a better look at who, or what, might be looking out the window, the curtain had already fallen down to cover the mysterious person.

I began to feel nervous, afraid of what these people would see in me. They were family – that's true – but I have never before heard of them, nor have either of my parents ever spoke of them.

I took a deep breath, chasing away all thoughts of my family – my dead family – and forced a smile on my face before dragging my luggage up the driveway on the porch step.

I happened to glance up at the address of where I had ended up. I repeated the words in my head and to myself, trying not to think foreboding thoughts.

Number four, Privet Drive.

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**(A/N: so yes, that is the chapter. i hope you enjoyed. it's basically a filler. but that's okay.**

**I still recommend reading my other fanfiction. i've gotten a pretty good number of reviews, and i've only just started writing. i'll try and write more of this, but i don't guarantee fast updates.)**


	3. Number Four, Privet Drive

**The Mediator : Harry Potter**

**Ghostly Magick**

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**  
(A/N: due to the inconvenient site glitch, i'm going to have to update right now before the whole thing's disabled. **

thanks for the reviews, everyone! Enjoy the chapter.

**Disclaimer: All recognizable Mediator… stuff belongs to Meg Cabot. All recognizable Harry Potter stuff belongs to J. K. Rowling. I own nothing but the plot.)**

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_  
Chapter Two._

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_  
Harry's POV_

I sighed as I laid splayed out on my bed, in the house of Number Four, Privet Drive, looking up at the cracked ceiling. Sixth year had just ended, and I had made the decision to help with the Order of the Phoenix. But the professors had reminded me that it was my duty to inform my aunt and uncle that I would not be living with them anymore. I had decided to permanently move out of Number Four, Privet Drive to Twelve Grimmauld Place.

My face contorted into one of pain as I reminisced about the past year at Hogwarts. Now that Dumbledore was gone, Hogwarts was in a state of chaos. The school's powerful Headmaster was gone – and Hogwarts was now as unsafe as any other place in Wizarding Britain. The Wizarding world was frantic, and now all the responsibility of killing Voldemort for good was piled onto _my_ shoulders.

I sighed again in frustration, running my hand through my hair. _Bloody hell_… _How was I supposed to kill Voldemort all by myself? I know I'm supposed to be _The Boy Who Lived, _but that doesn't make me more powerful than the next sixteen-going-on-seventeen wizard_.

I sat up abruptly, angry at myself for thinking such thoughts. I had promised myself that I wouldn't spend too much thought on what had happened. Hermione and Ron had convinced me that Dumbledore would not have wanted me to think about the past, but the present, and the future.

I growled and got off my bed, running my hand through my unruly hair again. I grabbed a jacket from my chair and exited my not-so-organised room out into the hallway. Hedwig hooted softly, noticing my restlessness. I gave her a strained smile and entered my room once more, reaching into her cage to softly pet her, thanking her for trying to comfort me.

I unlatched the door to her cage and let her out to stretch her wings. She hopped onto the windowsill, turning her head back to hoot once more before spreading her wings to fly. I watched as the dying sun shone on her wings and I turned around, exiting my room and heading down the stairs. Fortunately, the Dursleys did not pay any attention to me as I walked past the lounge, and I opened the front door and the hydrangeas to step out onto the sidewalk and into the late afternoon sunlight.

I quickly slipped into my jacket, and shoved my hands into my pockets. I walked slowly down Privet Drive, and turned left onto Wisteria Walk. Glancing to my right, I fingered my wand as I recognized the alley which Dudley and I were attacked by the Dementors last year. Gripping my wand tighter, I ventured into the alley. The darkness closed in on both sides and I clenched my teeth, as if expecting another attack.

I made it through and realised I had been holding my breath. I glanced back at the alley before turning left and down Magnolia Crescent. Now more relaxed, I ambled down, turning right onto Magnolia Road. Finally seeing the park railings, I hurried my steps and entered through the gate, not forgetting to close it behind me.

I made my way over to the swings. Sitting down in one of them, I kicked my feet off the ground. Every few minutes, I would kick the ground again to keep up the momentum.

I held the sides of the swing and looked up into the sky. It was getting to mid-afternoon. The sky was still blue – it would have been the perfect sky if the things that had happened around me were the same happy, cheerful light blue. I rubbed my scar, frowning as I felt the skin under my fingers.

Although the gentle swinging motion calmed me down, I could not help but wonder what my life would have been like if I had had a normal, Muggle life. If I still had my parents. If I had grown up with some sort of love from some sort of parental figure.

Sighing, I continued to contemplate before looking down at my watch. To my great surprise, it had already been an hour since I had entered the park. Soon, it was time to head back for supper, although it was probably only going to be a few stalks of celery and fruit. Not that I was complaining – anything was better than the cold soup they used to give me – but it was quite annoying to watch Dudley complain every night about the diet he was _still_ on, although it didn't seem to be helping.

I stood up and stretched, banishing the sad thoughts from my mind for now. I know I had made a promise to help in the upcoming war, but right now, I knew that I deserved to take a break, considering all that I had been through this year.

Shoving my hands into my pockets again, I shivered in my jumper before heading back down Magnolia Road. I noticed a taxi roll by and a flash of brown hair before it turned down Magnolia Crescent.

Walking leisurely down the road, the afternoon sun slid farther down the horizon, and I picked up the pace. If I was not back for supper in time, I wasn't sure whether or not my aunt would actually leave food out for me. Or perhaps leftovers. But I wouldn't count on it – Dudley would eat it all just to spite me.

I continued on, finally making it to the end of Privet Drive. I noticed that there was someone standing at the door to Number Four. Curious, I quickened my pace.

No one had told me someone was going to visit.

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_  
Suze's POV_

I walked up to the front door, rolling my suitcases along the ground and up the walkway. I felt as if it would take forever to reach the end of it. And just as I thought I would never reach it, I was standing outside the front door.

Gulping, I looked down at the little slip of paper I had shown to the cab driver. It was now smudged by the driver's dirty hands, but there it was – Number Four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.

Wait, Little _Whinging_? What kind of pervert would call any place Little _Whinging_? That's just asking to get ridiculed. _Oh, I live in Little Whinging. __What? Little Whinging. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA you live in a little –_

I'll stop now.

I read over the simple address again and again before I realized that I probably looked really stupid right now, standing in front of someone's door and not moving.

I flushed and looked around, thinking someone would suddenly pop out at me and ask me why I was standing here and not locked up in someone's home. Although I scanned the little street and saw no one, I had a gut feeling that someone was watching me. I shivered and looked back at the door.

Gathering my withering courage, I rang the doorbell before shrinking back and standing nervously on their doorstep.

Silence.

I thought about leaving right then and there when I suddenly heard large footsteps resound behind the door.

I gulped.

The footsteps stopped and I looked at the door confusedly. It had still not opened, but I was sure I had heard those footsteps.

Just when I thought I might have been hallucinating and that I really needed to leave before someone sued me for standing there looking like an idiot, the door opened and the most _hideous_ thing I had seen in all my seventeen years popped out of the door.

I suppressed the urge to scream and I smiled a weak smile before realizing that the _thing_ that was looking out at me was a guy. About my age. Who was extremely fat.

And when I say extremely, I mean _holy-shit-I-think-I-just-saw-an-elephant_ extremely.

I forced my jaw not to drop down to the ground and held my smile, although it was still very weak. The guy stepped around the door and that was when I realized that my eyes hadn't deceived me. He really was as fat as an elephant.

"Hello?" I said, more as a question, then wincing as I realized that I must sound really stupid right now. So I said with more confidence, "I'm Suze Simon."

The huge thing lumbered out closer to me. I tried not to shrink back as a disgusting smell floated towards me.

"Hullo." The beady blue eyes that would have looked better if he hadn't been so overweight squinted, looking me up and down. I widened my eyes when I realized that he was actually checking me out. Suddenly his face split into a smile that I had a feeling he thought was flirtatious and he said, "My name's Dursley. Dudley Dursley."

I had the distinct feeling he was trying to copy the "Bond, James Bond" type of introduction.

I attempted a smile and found that it came out looking more of a grimace. "Nice to meet you," I said politely, hoping he would just let me in and get it done with.

He grinned at me and I couldn't help but taste the sting of vomit at the back of my mouth.

"The pleasure's all mine," Dudley said before making a grab for my hand. Luckily my mediator instincts kicked in and I raised my hand hurriedly, making as if I was checking the time. He looked disappointed, and I thought that he would probably stop hitting on me.

Oh, how wrong I was.

He leaned against the doorframe and cocked his eyebrow. "So what brings you down here, babe?"

I suppressed the urge to gag uncontrollably and said as calmly as possible, "I was sent here because of some… family problems."

He looked really confused. And suddenly an image of a confused pig popped into mind. A giggle escaped me, but I bit it back, trying not to anger the guy. He seemed to think I had giggled because his flirting had worked, and his grin grew wider.

"You want me to… help you? I could _work_ it out with you, if you so wish," he said, winking. Now my smile had disappeared and I felt like I wanted to run off back to the airport and become a nun at the Mission, if only because I never wanted to see him ever again.

My patience was at its end, and I straightened up, looking at him in the eye.

"Look here – " I started to say, but at this exact moment, Dudley tried to grab me for a kiss.

I shrieked as I saw him leaning in, his puckered lips looming in my face. I noticed that there was a bit of saliva at the corner of his mouth and I recoiled in disgust. Unfortunately, his grip on me was quite strong and I could only move away a few inches before the lips tried to engulf my face.

I'm so going to sue for sexual abuse.

Just as I thought that I was going to have to kick my host in the nuts, a loud cough sounded from behind me.

Dudley's face snapped up, though he did not let go. But the fact that his face wasn't looming in front of mine made me impossibly relieved. Because of his hold on me, I could not turn around to see who was behind me. But what I did see was that Dudley's face had contorted into one of annoyance – and was that a bit of fear?

"What do you bloody want?" Dudley asked irritably, his voice sounding like he had phlegm stuck in his throat. At this thought, my own face contorted as well – but into an expression of disgust.

"Well, for one, you're blocking the door." The voice sounded pleasant, and young. Definitely male. I could tell that there was something about him that was really interesting. "And two, what do you think you're doing to her?"

Dudley clenched me even tighter, and I squeaked in outrage. He didn't look down at me, though.

"What do you think I'm doing, stupid?" His beady eyes squinted, and it took me a few seconds to realize he was trying to glare.

I choked on my own spit.

"I guess this would be a good time to tell you that she's with me."

During this exchange, I closed my eyes and tried to forget that a huge and lumbering pervert's face was looming in front of mine. But suddenly, Dudley let go of me and I stumbled backwards before whipping my head around to look at who my hero could be.

Behind me stood a guy, kind of tall and gangly, about my age. He was wearing jeans and a shirt that looked a bit too big for him, and a black leather jacket that looked foreign on him.

I studied his face. He had black hair that was really messy, with a bit that fell into his eyes, and glasses. He looked amused but guarded at the same time. The thing that caught my eye the most was a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. But just before I could contemplate how in the world he had gotten it, his eyes locked onto mine.

I saw my shock and surprise mirrored in his eyes as I realized that his eyes were green.

The same brilliant emerald green shade mine were.

Before I was able to make any sense of it, he had turned his attention to Dudley, although he stole a few glances at me.

"_She's_ with _you_?" Dudley guffawed. "What kind of girl would hang out with _you_?"

I shook myself out of my surprise in time to answer, "_I_ do."

I walked over to my saviour and clung onto his arm as if my life depended on it. He looked down at me with a mixture of amusement, surprise, and discomfort. He gave me a smile before turning back to Dudley.

Dudley was staring at us like the moon had just fallen out of the sky. His jaw was basically touching the ground. I stifled a giggle and I noticed that the guy I was clinging on to was struggling to hide a smile.

"Well?" he asked. "Could you move out of the way? I'm going to have to help her drag her things upstairs. She's staying over for awhile."

It looked like my hero was also a quick thinker. That would come in handy.

He smiled back down to me again, before using his free hand to grab hold of one of my suitcases.

"Oh, and by the way," he said to Dudley as we walked into the house past him, "My friend here is one of _my_ sort of people, if you know what I mean."

I looked up at him questioningly, and he looked down, his eyes signaling that he would explain later. I nodded just as I heard a choke come from behind us. I looked back at Dudley. His eyes were bulging out of his head in fear that he looked like he was going to explode on the spot.

I imagined Dudley fat exploded on the walls, and instead of feeling disgusted, I felt a sick kind of satisfaction at the image.

I giggled under my breath and helped the dark-haired boy drag one of my suitcases upstairs. Just as we reached the top of the first flight of stairs, I hesitated and stopped.

I looked up to him and said quietly, "Suze."

The guy's eyes flickered up to catch my gaze.

Green eyes met green.

"Harry."

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(A/N: … reviews would be nice.)**


	4. Losses and Loneliness

**The Mediator : Harry Potter  
Ghostly Magick**

_.x. _

**(A/N: the horizontal dividers won't work. no w00t.**

**so, after months of NON-UPDATINGNESS, i'm back. with chapter three. yes. nothing happened at ALL in the first like, two chapters, but whatever. hopefully this chapter will make people happy. i took like, the last week and a bit to write it, since my beta refused to beta any faster... oh well. she's worth every minute - the most amazing beta ever! love you, jamc**_(B/N: IT'S NOT MY FAULT. IT'S ALL HER FAULT. I SWEAR. She could just write faster and learn that it helps if you don't bug the beta when said beta is betaing.) _**don't you DARE pin the blame on me. i DO write faster. i finished this thing three days ago. and you took like, a whole two days to edit it. and then you argue over every little thing i write. like - why isn't this here? and why does it say _this_ many "insert time period here" and not _this_ many? **_(IT'S HER FAULT. SHE WRITES THE THING. She doesn't understand that most betas take a week or more to finish a chapter, too. I mean, it's not like I have REAL LIFE to bother me or anything, oh no. SHE'S still on frigging HOLIDAY.) _**hey, don't take it out on me. i was at an educational camp for three weeks, and in europe with no internet connection for a further twenty days. that's over a month, you know. forty days, almost. and anyway, you procrastinate every moment of the day. you need something useful to do. **_(Do NOT. Keep in mind that I have SCHOOL, and HOMEWORK, and a MAJOR PROJECT that YOU do NOT have to DO.) _**Well. I still have to pack and do summer reading for next year. 174 pages of history. so HAH. you don't have to do so much. and _I_ have to study for SATIIs this year, too. loser.**

**anyway, hopefully, my beta and i have figured out the plot line for this... i should write it down somewhere, but i've a general idea... if all goes well it'll be pretty... uh... long, and adventurous. if i remember to update at all. haha. i'm sorry, again.**

**that said, on with the chapter... after months of waiting, i present to you, chapter three!)  
**

_.x._

_Chapter Three - Losses and Loneliness_

_.x.  
_

When they finally reached the top of the stairs, Harry dragged the suitcase over to a room on the left. Suze curiously peered into the opened door on the right, looking at the cluttered room full of broken toys and dusty books.

_Wow, looks like a little kid stays in here,_ she thought. _Wonder who else lives in this house..._

As she looked around Dudley's room, Harry, leaning against his door frame, suddenly realized something and mentally kicked himself.

_How am I supposed to know whether she's a Death Eater or not?_ Harry fumed, now watching Suze with caution. His hand itched for the wand in his pocket.

_But I'm not sure whether or not she is… Maybe she's just a Muggle… And she does speak with an accent… Does Voldemort have followers outside Britain?_ Harry shook his head. He couldn't afford to ponder whether he was right or wrong – if this girl was a Death Eater, he had ignorantly let her inside the house and put himself in danger. He needed his wand, _now_.

Strengthening his resolve, he slowly reached into his pocket. But just as his fingers closed around his wand, Suze turned around.

Her eyes widened at the sight of Harry clutching something in his pocket.

"What do you have in there?" Suze asked, eyes on his pocket.

Harry hesitated. If she really was a Death Eater, wouldn't she have pulled her wand on him already?

"Oh, my God. Is that a gun?" Suze started backing away towards the stairs. The fear was now evident in her eyes – she could deal with knives and supernatural ghosts, but a gun was something she couldn't protect herself from.

_Shit! I was stupid enough to let this guy help me inside the house. Now there's no one around!_ She quickly scanned the hallway. She had nowhere else to go but downstairs, but Harry – if that was his real name – looked like he would be able to catch up to her and fire before she even got down the stairs.

While Suze looked around for a way of escape, Harry visibly relaxed – unless she was a Death Eater who actually took Muggle Studies, which was highly unlikely seeing as how they regarded Mudbloods and Muggles with contempt, Suze was a Muggle.

"No, it's nothing," Harry said, taking his hand out of his pocket.

Suze started, but when she saw that he had nothing in his hand, she hesitated. Now she was the one who was alert and wary. She made a quick decision.

With a yell, she rushed him, slamming him into a wall. A surprised Harry had no time to think until he felt something in his pocket. He jerked for her hand, but she had darted out of the way.

A very confused Suze was staring at the stick in her hand.

"You were holding a _stick_?"

Harry thought quickly, panicking.

"That's my uh, pet stick, uh, Sirius," he muttered quickly, grabbing it. Harry thought it was odd that he would think of Sirius's name when he was in such a situation. He brushed it off, and Suze made no protest as the lanky boy stuffed the stick back into his trouser pocket.

"Right," Suze replied, still extremely confused and watching Harry with a look that clearly said 'uh… weirdo.'

"Um… that's Dudley's room." Harry pointed towards the doorway Suze had been regarding only a few moments ago, trying to divert attention from his 'pet stick'. "Want a tour?"

"Er… later, maybe," she replied as they dragged her duffel bag into what she supposed was Harry's room. "Just… don't show me his room."

Harry grinned despite his embarrassment before he let go of the bag, placing it next to the bed. Suze took his lead before straightening and looking around the room.

A small, cluttered bedroom met her eyes. She could tell it was a boy's bedroom – it looked about the same style as her brothers' – and very, very messy. A closed wooden trunk sat at the end of his unmade bed, and his door – when opened – gave just enough space to put a closet by that wall. A chest of drawers stood in front of the windows facing the door, a drawer half-opened so that Suze saw a peek of some boxers, and a desk with unusual-looking books haphazardly all across it and on the floor. Harry stood in the middle of the mess, blushing and looking a little embarrassed.

"Sorry. Didn't think we were expecting anybody," he mumbled, shoving the drawer and closet door closed and cleaning up the mess on his desk.

Suze gave a nervous smile. He let all his supplies tumble into his trunk before slamming it closed and turning around. As a second thought, he remade his bed, albeit a little hurriedly.

He ran his hand through his hair before asking, "Um… want to sit down?" He gestured toward his bed. Suze made her way over and he sat down next to her.

An awkward silence ensued while they studied each other.

"What are you –" Harry started.

"What did you –" Suze said at the same time.

They both flushed and looked away.

"You can start first," they both chorused before they chuckled.

"Nah, you go first," Suze said.

"All right," Harry said, looking much more comfortable than he had five seconds ago. "Well, what are you doing here anyway?" he asked curiously. Why would anyone want to come here, of all places? Her accent was American, as far as he could tell, and that made her appearance at his house even more puzzling. Suze's face fell.

"Oh," she said softly. "That."

She sighed and stared off into the distance for a moment. Harry sat patiently, watching her face as she thought about the death of her family. Quietly, she fought back the tears that threatened fall.

Suze felt hopeless. For a month she had lain around - barely eating, barely sleeping, seeing no one. She hadn't known what to do. Some selfish part of her wanted her family to have become ghosts. It was the first time in her life she had wanted anything from her peculiar 'gift'. But as the days dragged by, it was apparent that none of her family had been left behind. The tears that refused to come the last week finally came - she spent the night crying in her temporary bed at the Mission, the pillow muffling the noise of her sobs. A few weeks later, here she was, with no close family left and in a city she had never been to before, in a stranger's house. With no one.

Harry watched as Suze battled her emotions, her face bent to look at the floor so he could only see half her face. Even then, he could see her face contort into different images of strong emotions – pain, sadness, regret, loneliness, and, most prominently, guilt – and he ran his hand through his hair, feeling guilty himself for making her go through… whatever it was she was going through.

"You know," he said softly, hesitating, "You don't have to tell me. I was just wondering why you just randomly showed up on my doorstep, is all. But if you don't want to tell me," he added quickly, seeing her eyes water slightly, "It's fine by me. Just promise me you're not a random axe killer who's decided to trick me into letting her into the house."

At this last remark, Suze looked up from the floor, and two pairs of emerald eyes caught one another. She gave a startled laugh before she turned around to sit on his bed, cross-legged, and looked him straight in the eye, a faint smile on her lips, as she said, "I promise you, Harry, that I am not an ax killer who's tricked you into letting her inside your house, let alone your room, with no one around."

Harry's eyes widened, and he flushed, coughing before Suze realized what she had just said. She blushed and looked down at the floor before finally mumbling, "Family problems."

"Family problems?" Harry looked at her sympathetically, but he was also more confused than ever.

"Yeah… They said I should stay with a relative and shipped me off here." Harry's eyebrows shot up.

"Well," he said, pausing, "I don't know how to tell you this, but I don't think anyone here knew that you were coming. And I don't think it's ever been mentioned that we have relatives in America… That's where you're from, right?"

"Yeah," she nodded, but now her eyes reflected confusion as well. "But if you're not my relative, then why –"

"YOU!"

Suze and Harry whipped their heads around to look at the doorway, shocked. The voice had been terribly angry, and Suze's heart quickened. She was about to spring up from the bed when she noticed the humongous shadow that was blocking the doorway. She blinked and slowly looked up into the angry eyes of an extremely obese man. He seemed to have squished himself into a suit – Suze was surprised the seams didn't look like they were bursting, but then again, the suit could as well have been tailor-made – and a bushy mustache completely covered his upper lip. He looked as if he was about to explode, as well – his face was completely red, dawning on purple. He looked extremely menacing. And he was glaring rather furiously at the two of them.

Suze opened her mouth to say something, and the fat man's face changed expressions so violently in a matter of seconds that she was shocked into silence before he even barked, "Shut your bloody mouth!"

Suze's eyes narrowed and she stood up, trembling and angry. She hadn't even said one word to this man and he was telling her to shut up?

_How_ dare _he?_ Suze raged in her mind as her green eyes flashed.

To her satisfaction, she saw that the fat man had recoiled a little bit, afraid of her anger before he straightened, though still trembling slightly – from anger or fear, Suze couldn't guess.

"Dad," she heard a familiar, phlegmy voice whine, "she's the one he brought in without permission!"

Straining to see behind the humongous man standing before her, she caught a glimpse of blond hair sitting on an egg-shaped head, and thought, _Dudley the elephant._

"Hello, Uncle Vernon," Harry said from the bed. The initial surprise had worn off, and his face was a mask of well-practiced nonchalance.

_His uncle?_ Suze wondered. _That's too bad._

Vernon's face turned a deep shade of purple.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to have your… freakish friends in my house?"

"Well, seeing as I never did have anyone over before, I don't think I remember you ever mentioning anything along those lines."

If it was possible, Vernon turned more purple than before.

"What about that redheaded lot a few years ago, hm? I don't suppose you remember that?"

"They were only here for a few seconds," Harry said coolly, standing up and taking a place beside Suze. "And I was gone for the rest of the summer anyway. This is different, though," Harry said, waving an arm at Suze's suitcase and bag as an explanation.

Uncle Vernon looked at the suitcase and then at Harry, looking fit to burst when Suze interrupted.

"Excuse me, uh, Uncle Vernon," she said, putting all her charm into it. His head whipped around, and Suze winced at the livid look upon his face. "I'm Suze Si – Ackerman. Suze Ackerman."

Harry blinked. He was sure he caught Suze changing her last name. He didn't interrupt though, as she continued her explanation.

"I'm having family problems back home in the States, and I was sent here to stay for a while with relatives."

Uncle Vernon looked at Suze up and down, disbelief on his face.

"Who do you think you are?" he roared. "We have no relatives in America! You're probably just someone off the streets! Another one of those freaks that he -" here he pointed an accusatory finger at Harry "- knows from that freak school of his! If you're trying to trick me into giving you a place to stay –"

"She is not a freak."

Uncle Vernon stopped and glared at Harry.

"And neither am I, for that matter," he added.

"Don't lie to me, boy," Vernon growled. "Who else would you know?"

Suze heard some snickering and looked behind Vernon. Dudley looked like he was having a great time watching – or hearing, at least; Suze didn't know how he could see from behind the (other) fat guy – Harry getting in trouble.

_Despicable_, she thought.

"Well, in truth, Uncle Vernon…" Harry paused and grinned at Dudley, "I've never seen her before today."

Dudley's eyes widened.

"You lied to me!" he cried in outrage. Suze thought it sounded more like a whine than the yell of an enraged teen.

Uncle Vernon ignored his son – at least, that's what Suze thought Dudley was, what with the familiar trait of being extremely overweight in both of them – and looked at Suze. If it was possible, he looked like he was extremely angry, afraid, and alarmed, all at the same time.

_Wow, three 'A's_, Suze thought.

"Are you mad?" Vernon cried. "You can't just bring anyone in here –"

"What's going on?" demanded a new voice, decidedly feminine – 'feminine', in this case, being higher-pitched and rather shrill.

"He brought in someone from the street, mum!" Suze heard Dudley whine, and there was a silence.

Suddenly there was an almighty shriek and Vernon was torn from his place in the doorway. Suze and Harry were now faced with a horse-like woman, eyes wide – the same fear present in her eyes as in Vernon's – and looking like she was about to tear someone's head off very soon.

For a few moments, the woman leaned against the door frame, heaving, as she stared at both green-eyed teens. Slowly, she raised an arm to point at Suze.

"Wh-who is she?" the woman finally got out, looking at Harry.

"This is Suze Ackerman, Aunt Petunia," Harry replied. "She showed up on our doorstep just now."

"_You brought someone you don't know into_ my _house_?" Aunt Petunia looked like she was about to hyperventilate. Her husband hurriedly grabbed her arm and brought her into the hallway and out of sight of the two teens awkwardly standing in Harry's room. Suddenly, she fought out of Vernon's grasp and ignored her son's pathetic whining, rushing back to the doorway.

"Are you mad?" she shrieked, echoing Vernon. "After all I've done for you? Do you think it was _easy_ for me to agree to that – that – that old, wrinkly _freak_ to let you stay here? Now you're bringing people off the streets into my house! She's probably a call girl, a _slut_ who wants nothing but money, just like your _mother_!"

Suze gasped indignantly and opened her mouth to say something, but Harry started first, his eyes flashing dangerously and his mouth hardening.

"Don't you _dare_ talk about my mother or Dumbledore that way ever again!" Harry roared. The furious look in Petunia's eyes dimmed, and was replaced by fear. She shrank back against her husband and son, who were both trying scramble and hide behind her. That plan completely failed, seeing that Petunia was extremely skinny – the sides of Dudley's and Vernon's bodies were showing clearly on either side of Petunia.

"Dumbledore has shown me more kindness in six years than any of you have for my whole life! He was extremely noble and a great man! And I know my mother was a kind, compassionate, and brave woman! She was _not_ a slut, and she is not a greedy, selfish _bitch_, because she is _nothing like you_!"

The only sound in the deafening silence was Harry's harsh breathing, glaring at his aunt, uncle, and cousin. Suze had kept silent, wisely suppressing her urge to say something at the moment, as she would usually do in a situation like this.

"Suze." Harry's voice, so quiet compared to his outburst only seconds ago, scared Suze. "Get your suitcase. We're leaving."

Harry opened the trunk at the foot of his bed.

"You go on first. You can manage, right?" he asked quietly as she started to drag her stuff back downstairs.

"Yeah."

Suze disappeared downstairs, and Harry stiffly turned around, facing his room. His uncle, aunt, and cousin watched fearfully as he continued to ignore them.

Slowly and deliberately, he drew his wand from his pocket. Vernon's eyes grew wide and his face turned different shades of red again; Petunia couldn't help but give a gasp of fear while her son squealed and tried to hide behind his parents.

Harry waved his wand and said, "_Accio_!" Everything flew from every corner of the room towards him – he directed it all towards his trunk, silently thanking Mrs. Weasley for teaching him a packing charm the last time he had stayed over at the Weasleys'.

When everything in his room was left bare, he turned around. The Dursleys were long gone by now. Dragging his trunk out of the room, he shot a contemptuous look down the hall which they unfortunately could not see, deliberately letting his trunk thump down the stairs. He knew that doing that might ruin the steps of the stairs, but it annoyed his aunt to no end, so he might as well.

Suze was anxiously waiting for him on the front step. Biting her lip, she smiled as he approached, relieved that Harry seemed to have calmed down. The dark, dangerous look on his face that had appeared at the mention of his mother and this Dumbledore person. Suddenly, a thought struck her - didn't Harry refer to this Dumbledore and his mother in the _past_ tense? That must mean...

She was jerked out of her thoughts when she realized Harry had asked a question.

"Sorry, what?" she asked, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Where are you going to go?" A confused look was replied to with a sigh.

"I can't really bring you with me. You flew over here to stay with my aunt and uncle, although I think they truly doubt that you're a relative of any kind." Suze scowled.

"Well, I'm not going to stay _here_," she said, turning around abruptly and grabbing her suitcase and her duffel bag. "If there's nowhere else for me to go, then I'm just going to have to check in at a hotel."

Harry quickly caught up with her when she set off down the street.

"Here, let me call a taxi for you," he said, stopping her. "I know a rather good hotel back downtown. I'm not going to leave you on the street, you know." Suze smiled gratefully. Here she was, stranded in a foreign country, with only the company of a young man she'd never met who had a pet stick and green eyes. He was nice, even if he seemed a little crazy. But even that odd company was going to be gone quite soon.

_I really shouldn't be talking who's crazy or not._ She smiled, remembering her mediating abilities.

Suze sighed and looked down at her bags as the silence lasted and Harry looked up and down the road for any sign of a taxi. Soon she was going to be alone again. That would only remind her of her loss and her sadness. She had nothing, nobody here - she _was_ nobody here. Harry would probably forget he'd ever met her - they'd go their separate paths, their separate lives. Somehow, Suze didn't want to forget Harry - she missed people treating her normally and not as a delicate figurine that would shatter into a million pieces if you so much as touched it. The way Harry treated her was refreshing after such a prolonged period of misery - she had almost forgotten why was here at all during her stop at number four, Privet Drive.

_Another dead end_, she thought bitterly, chewing on her lip. Since her family's... departure, she had developed an unseemly habit of chewing her lower lip - she had gnawed so much that her skin was peeling and sometimes even bled when she thought of a particularly horrible memory. Even now, she could taste a bit of blood on her tongue as she played with the tattered threads of her sweater sleeves.

Suddenly, Harry started waving his hand up and down. The black taxi pulled up next to them and Harry helped Suze stuff her luggage into the trunk before turning to the driver.

"Antoinette Hotel, please." The driver gave Harry a curt nod. Harry straightened and turned to look at Suze.

She was a mess. Even though she had tried hard not to let her emotions show on her face, Harry recognized the habit instantly and knew exactly how she felt. He had done the same thing ever since he started Hogwarts, not wanting everyone to know how his relatives treated him. He hesitated, feeling awkward, before spontaneously giving Suze a hug.

Surprised, Suze didn't react for a second. But suddenly, she wrapped her arms around him, and buried her head in his shoulder. Now Harry was the one who was surprised, but he didn't move when he felt a bit of wetness through his shirt.

It was the most comfortable Suze had been for a long time. Father Dominic and Jesse hadn't hugged her much in the last month - they had sensed that she needed time alone to mourn. Jesse had kissed her on the cheek just before she left, but this gesture of kindness that Harry had shown her, even if she was a complete stranger to him, was the most caring she had received since the sickly green memories of her family's deaths.

It was a few more seconds before she had composed herself and stood up straight. Except for her too-bright eyes, no one would be able to tell that she had been crying - she had been like that since forever. Crying was something she refused to let anyone see her do - her overly stubborn chin shivered a little in an attempt to hold back, and then stayed still.

"Thanks," she whispered before turning and getting into the taxi.

Harry watched her leave, unmoving as the tail lights disappeared. For a while he stayed there, a cool breeze blowing through the neighborhood as his eyes questioned the emptiness that surrounded him. He was a lone figure on the street, and he stood there, waiting for the answers that did not come. The darkness seemed to be waiting, too, as the streetlamps flickered on and Harry's green eyes looked into the distance.

_.x._

A _Lumos_ and a Knight Bus ride later found Harry and his trunk at the side of a familiar rundown square. Blinking and looking at his surroundings, he picked up his trunk and started forward. He had finally arrived on Grimmauld Place.

He casually crossed the road and sidled up to number twelve, trying not to look suspicious. Looking around surreptitiously, although he was probably already within the boundaries of the Fidelius Charm, he knocked on the door.

He stood there for quite a while, lost in his own thoughts. Then he realised the door hadn't opened yet, and no one seemed to be coming. He could have smacked himself, embarassed although no one was watching. 12 Grimmauld Place was a _big_ house; how could they hear someone knocking?

Feeling extremely stupid, he found the doorbell and rang it. Half a second later, he figured that that had _not_ been a good idea. Mrs Black's shrill screeching and yelling reached his ears and only got louder when the door opened.

"Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks said cheerfully despite the racket, stepping aside when she saw who it was, letting a half-relieved Harry inside. He regarded the young woman curiously. Tonks now sported bright red hair and blue eyes; a rather surprising combination. Her red locks were sheared off into a short boyish cut that ended just at the top of her ears. The weariness in her eyes did not escape Harry's attention - Dumbledore's death had been hard on everybody in the Order as well as the rest of the magical world.

Tonks turned away from Harry, her cheerful face replaced by a scowl. She strode over to the still-screaming portrait and yanked the curtains closed around it unceremoniously, not bothering to yell at Mrs Black to shut up.

"Hello, Tonks," replied Harry, dragging his trunk inside with some difficulty, glad that the screeching had stopped. "I don't suppose I could get a key to here anytime soon, could I?"

Tonks laughed as she turned back towards him. "You don't need a key, Harry. You can just walk straight in. This place is guarded by the Fidelius, remember? And we've already changed the Secret-Keeper, so the door's always unlocked."

"Oh," said Harry, turning slightly pink. "Right." _And here I was, waiting for someone to open the door for me when I could have just walked in..._

"You planning on staying over?" she asked, closing the door behind him and eying his trunk.

"Yeah, I moved out. I couldn't stand being there with them any longer."

Tonks didn't need to be told who _they_ were. She nodded sympathetically.

"I'm glad I'm rid of them - and I hope for good." Harry's expression seemed to darken for a moment, and he sighed. "I guess I'm just going to hide out here for a while."

As Tonks levitated his trunk up the stairs, Harry couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity - here he was again at the Order's headquarters, with Tonks to help him with his things as he disappeared from Privet Drive midsummer.

Floating the last of Harry's meagre belongings upstairs, Tonks showed him to a room on the second floor and left, but not before Harry thanked her profusely. Standing in the doorway, he could see that it wasn't the room he and Ron had shared during their stay here two summers ago.

A four-poster bed hugged the corner furthest from the door. An antique desk and chair lay abandoned next to a wall; a lamp sat on the table, poised with a regal air as only expensive lamps could do. Except for the curtains, rug, and a few paintings on the walls, the room was quite bare. The only thing that caught Harry's eye was a book that lay open on the desk.

He walked up to the book, peering at what was on the page. With a rush, he saw four familiar faces. Unlike usual wizarding photos, the people in this one did not move - it was a shot of a moment in time. The background looked like it was on the edge of a lake - if Harry wasn't mistaken, the lake at Hogwarts. A young man with messy, jet-black hair who looked remarkably like Harry had his arms around a redheaded woman. A blond man, his hair falling a little into his tired eyes, was standing next to them, and another with longish hair as black as the first boy's stood next to him. A glimpse of a round face and blond hair peeked out from over the tops of their heads. Everyone was laughing, looking into the camera with widely grinning faces.

James Potter, Lily Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew.

With a start, Harry realised he was standing in Sirius's old room. Emotion from the memories of two summers ago caught in his throat, making it hard to breathe. Running his fingers over the photograph, his chest tightened. In this photo, they all looked carefree, teens with bright futures ahead. None of them would know what would happen in the years after their graduation - evil, betrayal, death. He fingered the leather jacket he had been wearing, tearing his eyes away and looking around with overly bright green eyes, an echo of Suze's when she left. The jacket had been Sirius's, and Harry wore it almost everywhere he went.

_It's not fair_, he thought bitterly. _Everything always happens to me - always happens to people around me. Sometimes I wish I could just disappear and take everything with me... but then everyone would have to depend on Neville, and where would everyone be?_ Harry sighed. It wasn't that he disliked his fellow Gryffindor - it was more of the fact that if Neville was the Boy Who Lived, Voldemort probably would have risen to power six years ago. Neville was a nice person and all, just... not the most excellent of wizards.

Harry didn't know how long he stood there, staring at the photograph. Pushing these thoughts away from him, he turned to thank Tonks again before remembering that she had left already. How long had he been standing there? If anyone had seen him, he must have looked like a right berk.

Wanting to get away from the memories, Harry grabbed his wand, looking up and down the staircase before making his way downstairs. Near the bottom he heard hushed voices and sounds of people hurrying back and forth. He turned the corner and saw Tonks conferring with a few of the Order's people, including Kingsley Shacklebolt and a few others he didn't recognise. He felt someone's hand on his shoulder and turned around to see a familiar face.

"Hello, Harry," Lupin said, smiling at him. His familiar, tired smile graced his lips, although his eyes, like Tonks, were filled with more weariness than they usually held. The gray flecks that had been in his hair since the first time Harry had met him seemed to have multiplied and become more obvious now, and lines that weren't there before had appeared on his face. He looked so much older than Harry remembered. "Tonks said you were here. How are you?"

"All right, I suppose," Harry replied, looking back at the the group of people who seemed to be preparing to leave. "What's happening?"

"There's been another attack on the Muggles." The rumbling voice came from Mad-Eye Moody, who had made his way over to Harry and Lupin during their conversation. Nodding to Harry as a greeting, he added, "Death Eaters."

"Where?"

"In Surrey. We're going to clean up the mess. I sent a few of the Order over there to deal with it when we first heard of the attack. They've just sent a Patronus saying it's all cleared now. Looks like the dirty dogs were looking for some fun and happened to choose a Muggle hotel. Frightened all the Muggles in the street, they did, and a few more passers-by were hit. We're going to have to Obliviate the lot of them." Moody seemed to like this prospect, but Harry wasn't paying attention.

"Hotel? Did you say a hotel in Surrey?" Harry didn't know why, but something heavy seemed to have settled in his stomach.

"Yep. Some little hotel in Kingston-upon-Thames. Goes by the name Antoinette Hotel, I think."

Harry's heart stopped.

_Suze._

_.x._

**(A/N: review please?**

**i'll try to update soon, if you're all _very, very __good._**** that means reviewing a little. but yeah. haha. when i've figure out what i want to happen to little Suze here, i _will_ update. if jamc betas it within a week, that is... ) **


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